Missing Moments
by purple pear 87
Summary: But somehow his bravery made her braver, his strength gave her some too." A missing moment in the Deathly Hallows- Ron and Hermione go to the Chamber of Secrets


Hermione and Ron left the crowded Room of Requirement, hurrying down the hallway unnoticed and down the marble steps.

Hermione, from where she was walking, behind Ron, studied him. Ever since the beginning of their Horcrux hunt, it seemed like he had grown- both physically and mentally. He now strode down the hallways confidently, his hands shoved into his pockets, his red hair mussed perfectly over his freckled face, his broad shoulders thrown back. Ron, sensing her watching him, turned his head and threw her a crooked grin. She felt her heart skip a beat, and smiled happily back.

They didn't talk as they walked across the floor, their footsteps echoing in the empty corridors, until they reached the bathroom, and pushed the door open. Even five years later, Ron still looked awkward going into a girl's bathroom, Hermione noticed. She strode forward to the center of the bathroom, looking around to make sure Moaning Myrtle wasn't watching them.

"So, where is the chamber?" she finally asked, breaking the silence. He nodded toward the sink, walking over to run his hands over the faucets. Hermione watched him, feeling slightly breathless, as he gripped a faucet with one large hand and gestured her to come over.

"This is it," he said darkly, tracing a small silver serpent engraved into the metal. "So how do we get in?" She asked curiously. He suddenly swore. She jumped, startled and taken aback. "What?"

"Sorry," he said, smiling sheepishly. "It's just that . . . You have to speak Parseltongue to be able to get into the chamber." Hermione groaned. Why hadn't they grabbed Harry to take with them before they left? But the last time she had seen him, he had been staring at Ginny like a deer caught in headlights, and she hadn't wanted to pull them away from each other.

_That's not it_, a small voice said inside her head. _You wanted to be alone with Ron, didn't you?_ Hermione scowled. She hated that snide little voice, especially since it was always right.

"Why don't you try?" She asked Ron instead, crossing her arms over her chest. "You've heard Harry say it, haven't you?"

She watched him swallow nervously, then lean forward slightly. His mouth opened, and out of it came a strangled, hissing sound. She clapped her hand to her mouth to fight back a laugh, which became more difficult as he looked at her incredulously.

"Hermione," he said crossly, not noticing how her heart beat faster as he said her name. "You can shut up now- it worked."

She gaped, coming up behind him as the faucet moved back with a grinding sound of stone-on-stone, the basin of the sink retreating into the main fixture, leaving a slimy looking chute leading into darkness. She gulped, ignoring him as he smirked. "We're supposed to go down that?" she asked nervously, not able to imagine what the actual chamber would be like.

"Ladies first," Ron said pleasantly, offering his hand to her. She glared at him, taking it and using it to push herself up, ignoring how her fingers tingled pleasantly where they touched his. She was now perched on the edge of the sink, her feet dangling into blackness. She looked up at him, and nodded bravely, pushing herself up and letting go of the cold stone.

Air rushed around her, blowing her hair in her face and blinding her, as if the darkness didn't already do that, as she free-fell down the long chute, the bottoms of her sneakers scraping against the granite, until she hit the ground and collapsed in a heap on the ground below. She rolled out of the way of the chute, wincing at her bruising elbows.

"Hermione!" Ron's worried voice came from a pinprick of light above. "Are you all right?"

"I'm fine!" She called back. "You can come down now."

As he clambered into the chute, she pulled her wand out of her pocket, whispering "_lumos_," and her wand tip flared, casting a shivering glow of light over the dirty, cold stone walls. She looked around as Ron landed on the ground next to her. Bones scattered the dank floors, the ceiling crumbling, cobwebs strung across corners and water dripping from the ceiling. She shivered slightly as Ron got to his feet, pulling his wand out to add his light to hers.

"Let's go," he whispered, his breath showing in the cold air. She looked around quickly as a noise came from beside her, jumping slightly, and relaxing as she saw it was only a brown rat. Ron grabbed her hand and squeezed it to comfort her, and she squeezed his back.

They set off down the tunnel together, hand in hand, their wands illuminating the path in front of them. If it wasn't for Ron's hand on hers, Hermione knew that she would have ran out long ago. But somehow his bravery made her braver, his strength gave her some too.

Soon, they came to a mountain of dirt and rubble blocking the path. Hermione looked at Ron questioningly, and he smiled slightly. "Last time we were here," he said, referring to the second year, when she had been paralyzed in the hospital wing and didn't get a chance to help them. "Lockhart decided to wipe our memories with my wand, and, well, my wand was broken, so it backfired, and managed to block our path as well as wiping _his _memory."

She could feel his sharp glance on her face, even though she kept her eyes ahead. She knew he was making sure she wasn't still in love with Lockhart. Well, she wasn't- she had given him up years ago. Hell, she hadn't even liked him to begin with, just a small, admiring crush, but she kept it up to see what Ron's reaction would be. And so far, it had worked wonderfully. But she wasn't going to be telling him she didn't find him at all attractive anymore.

Eventually, they came to a doorway carved out of stone snakes, entwined around the rock. She glanced up at them, slightly repulsed, and they ducked under the archway, Ron's head barely skimming the top of the rock. Now they were in a hall, long and wide, with a large, stone face, bearded and disapproving, staring down at them from the far end. She gripped Ron's hand even tighter, and looked around to see him staring in awe at the chamber.

"I don't know where we should go," he admitted, looking down at her. "I never came with Harry. I just heard about it. I'll have to admit- it's a lot more impressive to see than to hear about from him."

She laughed slightly, but the sound was too loud and forced, and she stopped almost immediately. "There," she said suddenly, pointing in front of them, toward a heap of yellowing bones. They ran down the chamber, their footsteps loud, until they stopped by the skeleton of the huge basilisk. Hermione gulped. It was a lot larger than she had ever imagined, and though it couldn't hurt her anymore, she refused to get too close.

Ron knelt by the beast's skull, opening the jaws to expose a mouthful of long, crooked fangs. She shuddered as he gripped one in his hands and pulled hard, ripping out of the skull.

"Do you have the cup?" He asked, turning to her with the fang clenched in his hand. She nodded mutely and offered it to him, the innocent gold glinting in their wand light. "Why don't you do it?" He said, surprising her. "What?"

"Come on, Hermione. Harry and I've both destroyed horcruxes, but you've never got to have that honor." She smiled slightly. "But what if I mess it up? If I can't destroy it . . .?"  
He shook his head, taking her hand and placing the fang in her palm, closing her fingers over the rough bone. "You won't," he said reassuringly. "How do I know? Because you're you, Hermione. I trust you. And if you don't, I'll be there to help you."  
She blushed slightly at his words, and nodded, bracing herself. He placed the cup on a rock in front of her, staring intently at it, and making the same horrible, hissing noise. She watched, pervertly fascinated, as the gold seemed to wink at her, and entrance her, until she was staring into the sparkling surface.

_It's so beautiful_, she thought happily, forgetting everything around her, even Ron, for the small golden cup. _It would be so easy to just go to sleep . . . To leave this battle . . . And wake up when it's done . . ._ She felt her eyelids growing heavy, and her chin nodding to her chest.

"Hermione!" Ron's cry broke through her daze, and she turned to him, surprised, as all her thoughts came rushing back, and she felt more awake than ever. She turned back to the cup, ignoring how it glinted evilly, as she raised the fang over her head and brought it down, stabbing it deep into the center of the cup. The gold began to bubble, burning through the fang so that she dropped it with a yelp. As it hissed and spit, she could hear a single, inhuman scream, faint but still there, that chilled her to the bone, sending a shiver through her spine.

She dropped onto the floor, shivering, and wrapped her arms around her knees as her eyes filled with tears, and she hid her face with her hands from Ron as they threatened to spill down her cheeks. She heard a small noise beside her, and turned slightly to see Ron sinking to his knees, staring at her nervously.

"Hermione? Are you all right?"

She wiped at her cheek with the back of her hand, and nodded slowly. She had never felt so helpless. Someone- something- else had been controlling her, and she hadn't liked it one bit. Now she knew how Ginny had felt in second year, and Harry in fifth. She stiffened in shock as a pair of long arms wrapped around her, bringing her into his chest. Gradually, she relaxed, resting her head against his chest, breathing in his cologne, which made her head swim.

"It's okay," he whispered, sending a different kind of shivers up and down her back. "It's gone now. Don't worry about it, 'kay?"

She nodded, pulling herself together, and tilted her head slightly up to look up at his face. He was staring down at her, an odd expression in his eyes. She pulled her brows together quizzically, and he smiled slightly, leaning in until his face was inches from hers. She could feel his body heat, even through both of their robes, burning inside of her, smelling his wonderful scent, and watching his face draw closer, until his lips were barely inches from hers. She stopped breathing. She wanted him to kiss her, so much, and felt herself leaning in slightly, but . . .

She turned her face to the side, looking toward her shoulder. "We should get back," she said quietly. "Harry will be waiting for us."

He continued to study her face, looking slightly crestfallen, before nodding, pushing himself to his feet, brushing the dirt off, and offering his hand to her. She took it, hoisting herself up, watching as he went back to the skull, pulling a few teeth from the jaw, handing some to her.

"For when we find the other horcruxes," he said shortly, as she took them from him carefully, as to not let them touch her skin. "Let's go."

She walked behind him as he strode out of the chamber, not bothering to turn around. As she watched his hunched back, his bowed head, she let a few silent tears roll down her cheeks. If only she wasn't so scared.


End file.
